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Reviews

Toshirô Mifune stars as a wandering Samurai with dazzling sword skills in this classic feudal Japanese film from Akira Kurosawa. After arriving in a new town that is ravaged by two warring criminal gangs, the samurai swiftly demonstrates his proficiency with a blade and becomes desired property for both gangs. Instead of joining either team, the cunning samurai pits both gangs against each other ... read more

I can’t believe I haven’t seen any movies directed by Akira Kurosawa for such a long time. A few years ago, I was doing a good job and ended up watching 13 of his movies but, by now, it has been almost 10 years since I saw another one of his movies. It is a real shame but maybe I will pick it up again later on. Anyway, this flick is probably one of his most famous ones and therefore I was real... read more

Brilliant acting by Mifune and veiled anti-capitalist themes make this a masterpiece of the "Samurai Movie" sub-genre. There are so many tensions: corruption vs morality, greed vs self-sacrifice, samurai order vs gangster chaos, even the sword vs the gun. It's hardly a surprise when the streets are eventually filled with dead bodies!

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The Ups: From the moment this movie starts it is easy to see how it influenced the entire Italian Spaghetti Western genre and several modern actioners as this is basically a Samurai Movie mixed with the gangster genre.
The Downs: The strange over-the-top comical element that is in so many Asian movies is a aquired taste that may not feel suited for everyone. "

" Yojimbo is possibly the greatest film about manipulation ever made. Influenced primarily by the westerns of John Ford, Kurosawa ironically became more of an influence on directors in the West down to his careful directorial style, oft-comical violence, and exquisite cinematic timing. "